The present invention relates to a terminator for connecting wires in an electrical circuit and, more particularly, to a head lead terminator for connecting read/write head leads to a preamplifier circuit in a disc drive.
In a disc drive, read/write head leads are relatively small electrically conductive wires, typically having diameters of about 0.002 inches, and can therefore be easily damaged. For protection, head leads are normally encased in a protective tubing, for example, a teflon tubing. In the assembly of a disc drive actuator, it is necessary to connect the head leads, usually along with a damping resistor, to a preamplifier circuit.
One presently known method for attaching read/write head leads to a preamplifier circuit is to individually hand-solder the head leads to solder pads on the preamplifier circuit board. The protective tubing around the head leads is then glued to the preamplifier circuit board to provide some added restraint to the dislodgement of the head leads. The head damping resistor, in this method, is soldered to pads on the preamplifier circuit board adjacent to the head lead solder pads.
A second known method for attaching head leads to a preamplifier circuit is to attach the head leads to a small flex circuit pad, e.g., 0.16 inch by 0.16 inch, and then attach the flex circuit pad to the preamplifier circuit board. In this method, the head damping resistor is also attached directly to the preamplifier circuit board by soldering to a solder pad on the board.
The space required for these methods of attaching the head leads to the preamplifier circuit board is so great that space has become a limiting factor for the number of head lead terminations possible in 51/4 inch disc drives.
It is therefore highly desirable to provide a device for connecting head leads, as well as head damping resistors, to preamplifier circuits in a manner which will reduce the area required to attach read/write head leads to preamplifier circuits, as well as provide added protection for the delicate head leads, thereby improving the reliability and allowing more consistency and higher quality of head lead connections.